Humansdorp protesters block road to St Francis Bay

Protesters set tires alight and formed barricades along the R330 between Humansdorp and St Francis Bay yesterday.

Kouga municipal leadership met with the protesters in an attempt to defuse the situation.

The main grievance of the protesters was the lack of RDP housing in the area and the need for the informal settlement at the Humansdorp waste water treatment works to be relocated.

“The municipality is not the official housing authority, therefore we could not make any promises in this regard. We have, however, undertaken to facilitate a meeting for the community with the East Cape Department of Human Settlements, explained Mayor Elza Van Lingen.

“The municipality has already addressed most of the grievances that were raised during a similar protest at KwaNomzamo last year.

Gravel roads were graded, water pressure problems were resolved and an extra 23 taps were installed at informal areas.

The municipality will also roll out a bucket eradication programme from the new financial year. About 540 buckets are still in use in KwaNomzamo.

The severe drought has, however, limited further intervention because the municipality has had to reduce the budget for some of the services to fund the implementation of drought-relief measures such as the drilling of boreholes.

We have also appealed to ward councillors to sensitise their communities to the seriousness of the water situation as it will continue to impact on other service areas such as road maintenance.

A stronger educational drive is necessary in this regard,” added Van Lingen.

Kouga Traffic and Law Enforcement Officers as well as the South African Police patrolled the area overnight.